Does this constitute malpractice?

[sopawd1]

What is the name of your state? CA

In Sept., 2007, I took my sister to Hoag Hospital, in Newport Beach, for a simple gall stone procedure that was requested by her doctor. They put her under and proceeded to insert a tube down in order to remove the stones. They ran in to a blockage, so, the tube was removed and she was awakened. They said they did not do the procedure because of the blockage and released her with the instruction to call her doctor the next day.

On the way home, she starting screaming in pain and passing out because of the pain. I pulled over and called 911. The ambulance came and took her to the nearest emergency room.

When I arrived with her, I explained to the ER doctor what had happened at the other hospital. I was informed by the doctor that my sister had acute pancreatitis with an enzym count of over 7,000 and that she never should have been released from the first hospital.

Another doctor took over and said my sister needed to have her gall bladder removed but they have to wait until they could get the enzyme count down and get her vitals back to normal. During this time, she went in to respiratory failure and had to be put on a breathing tube. Also, during this period, a cyst developed outside the pancreas. On November 21, 2007, her enzyme count and vitals were back to normal, so, her doctor sent her home stating that he wanted to wait to do the surgery until she recovers from this ordeal and is doing good. On November 26, 2007, I had to rush her back to the emergency on the suggestion of the in home nurse care.

On November 27, 2007, the doctor performed an emergency gall bladder removal surgery. She had a really rough time in the hospital, but, the hospital staff was excellent with her.

She was finally released to come home on January 8, 2008. However, she still has a long way to go for complete recovery.

My question: Would she have a case against the first hospital?

 

[lya]

Although it is possible that she should have remained at the first hospital, nothing appears to have been done outside the normal approach.

It is usual and standard practice to wait two weeks for the pancreas to settle down and then to do surgery. The pseudocyst is normal. The pancreatitis from an inflamed/infected gallbladder is normal. A difficult recovery is normal.

She does have a long way to go, which is normal. Most likely, in 3 to 4 years, she will devleop Type 2 diabetes.

I sincerely doubt there is a claim of neglgience or of damages associated to anything other than gallbladder disease that involved the pancreas and made the patient very, very ill.

 

[barry1817]

malpractice or not

What is the name of your state? CA

In Sept., 2007, I took my sister to Hoag Hospital, in Newport Beach, for a simple gall stone procedure that was requested by her doctor. They put her under and proceeded to insert a tube down in order to remove the stones. They ran in to a blockage, so, the tube was removed and she was awakened. They said they did not do the procedure because of the blockage and released her with the instruction to call her doctor the next day.

On the way home, she starting screaming in pain and passing out because of the pain. I pulled over and called 911. The ambulance came and took her to the nearest emergency room.

When I arrived with her, I explained to the ER doctor what had happened at the other hospital. I was informed by the doctor that my sister had acute pancreatitis with an enzym count of over 7,000 and that she never should have been released from the first hospital.

Another doctor took over and said my sister needed to have her gall bladder removed but they have to wait until they could get the enzyme count down and get her vitals back to normal. During this time, she went in to respiratory failure and had to be put on a breathing tube. Also, during this period, a cyst developed outside the pancreas. On November 21, 2007, her enzyme count and vitals were back to normal, so, her doctor sent her home stating that he wanted to wait to do the surgery until she recovers from this ordeal and is doing good. On November 26, 2007, I had to rush her back to the emergency on the suggestion of the in home nurse care.

On November 27, 2007, the doctor performed an emergency gall bladder removal surgery. She had a really rough time in the hospital, but, the hospital staff was excellent with her.

She was finally released to come home on January 8, 2008. However, she still has a long way to go for complete recovery.

My question: Would she have a case against the first hospital?

What a doctor would say about another to you and what he would say under oath in a court room are very different things, unfortunately but true.

For malpractice to succeed one normally needs to show

Doctor negligence
Negligence caused harm to the patient
Financial component to the harm done.

If she should never have been released from the hospital, did getting her back so quickly lead to the same result.

You might have questions that might have to be answered to better understand if you have a case and if a case could prevail. Which is also a big difference.

 

[LAWMED]

I am assuming the procedure she had was an ERCP? While useful, ERCP success and complication rates are VERY operator dependent. There is a complication rate of 5-10% with complications graded by severity and time to symptoms. You describe a severe (hospitalized for 10 or more nights), and "early" (occurring within a few hours). You describe a complication during the procedure which may have led to various attempts to clear the "blockage". If cannulation of the biliary tree was difficult, a flexible guide wire or sphincterotome may have been used in an attempt to clear it. A sphincterotomy or fistulotomy may be performed. The latter techniques increase the risk of duodenal (small intestine) and ductal (pancreatic or biliary) perforation. Any of these can lead to acute pancreatitis, the first symptom of which is almost always severe and sudden abdominal pain.

While it may have been impossible to predict before she left the hospital, and her release appropriate, you should see an attorney and have an expert review the films and operative note from the procedure. As I said, complications are VERY dependant on the skill of the operator in this procedure.,